FILE – In this Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013, file photo, Emilio Ferrer, Brian Ferrer, center, and Jonathan, right, of Hollywood, Fla., talk to a FirstService representative at a job fair in Miami Lakes, Fla. According to a report issued by the Labor Department, on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 10,000 a week earlier to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, a sign that employers are laying off very few workers. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 10,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, a sign that employers are laying off very few workers.

The Labor Department said Thursday that the four-week average rose 8,000 to 356,250, the highest since April. The 16-day partial Login to read more